The Chargers’ Keenan Allen, in a game against Buffalo here at StubHub Center last November, set career highs with 1,393 receiving yards and a franchise-record 102 catches this season. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

Keenan Allen always had the ability. This past season, he finally played enough games to prove it.

The Chargers’ former third-round pick broke out as an elite receiver in 2017, setting career highs with 1,393 receiving yards and a franchise-record 102 catches. On Friday, the Pro Football Writers of America named Allen their NFL Comeback Player of the Year — recognizing his triumphant return following nearly two seasons lost to injuries.

Allen was on a career pace in 2015, catching 67 passes for 725 yards in just eight games. That campaign ended abruptly when he landed hard on a touchdown catch, a play that resulted in a lacerated kidney.

Less than a year later, Allen tore his ACL before halftime of the Chargers’ season opener in Kansas City. He returned to the practice field this past May, during OTAs. In 2017, he played a full 16-game slate for the first time.

Consistent but relatively quiet through the first half of the season, Allen erupted in November, becoming the first player in NFL history to record at least 10 catches, 100 yards and a touchdown in three straight games.

He had 797 receiving yards during the Chargers’ 6-1 stretch to end the season, which pushed the team to a final 9-7 record. The 6-foot-2 wideout credited quarterback Philip Rivers with shepherding his breakout.

“He had a lot to do with that,” Allen said after the Chargers’ season finale on New Year’s Eve. “The coverage, getting to the plays when he sees the coverage and just taking advantage of it. Just executing the best that we can and that’s what happens.”

“There’s obviously other receivers in the league that are great route runners; I don’t know if anybody’s better than Keenan,” Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said earlier this month. “Some other guys are pretty good too. Keenan, he’s a great route runner, and he just has a natural feel for the game, that I think he’s just born with.

“He’s got a great rapport with our quarterback too. He was a tough cover for a lot of people this year. A lot of people knew we were going to him on third down, and he still produced for us.”

The Associated Press’ pick for Comeback Player of the Year — as well as other awards like MVP and Coach of the Year — will be announced during the NFL Honors show on Feb. 3, the night before the Super Bowl.

The AP and the PFWA have made identical selections for Comeback Player of the Year since 2013, when Rivers won.

Jack Wang covers the Chargers, the latest NFL team to relocate to Los Angeles. He previously covered the Rams, and also spent four years on the UCLA beat, a strange period in which the Bruins' football program often outpaced their basketball team. He is a proud graduate of UC Berkeley, where he spent most of his time in The Daily Californian offices in Eshleman Hall — a building that did not become earthquake-safe until after his time on campus.